


Incarnate: Origin

by Gallijaw



Series: The Incarnate Universe [7]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gallijaw/pseuds/Gallijaw
Summary: It's story time for Falco!Eren recounts the story of how he discovered his innate power and joined the warriors.
Relationships: Eren Yeager & Original Female Character(s), Eren Yeager & Original Male Character(s), Falco Grice & Eren Yeager, Marcel Galliard | Berwick/Eren Yeager
Series: The Incarnate Universe [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784179
Kudos: 12





	1. Choices Made, Eren's Purpose

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so glad to finally be writing this!  
> This was actually the first work in the incarnate universe that I imagined, but it took me ages to make a solid plan for it 😅
> 
> The entire Incarnate Universe was inspired by a manga series called "To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts", written and illustrated by Maybe, and published by Kodansha.  
> An anime consisting of 12 episodes was released on Crunchyroll back in 2019.  
> Episode 8, "Songstress of Sleep" is what lead to me imagining Eren in that situation, thus leading to the creation of this entire universe!

**After the disaster of the Paradis mission, the Grice family was grief-stricken by the loss of their eldest son. Falco, who still wanted to be a Warrior but also didn't want to worry his parents, partially moved in with the Jaeger Family; he stayed there during the week, then returned to his parents' home over the weekend.**  
**Our story today starts off in the Jaeger home**

"Falco!"  
A voice sounds out through the cosy home,  
"It's bedtime! Come on up!"

A short brunette with big hazel eyes runs up the stairs, flying into the room, leaping onto the bed and snuggling with it's current occupant. 

Eren glances down at the child curling into his side, eyes shimmering with amusement, "Coucou frérot! I see you've had a good day, do you want me to sing you a lullaby? There's this one my mother used to sing for me that I just love."  
Falco glances up at his adoptive big brother with wide eyes, glittering brown and green meets glimmering green and teal, and he shakes his head excitedly.

"Haha! Alright."  
He smiles, and starts to sing, melodic voice floating through the air,  
"Let's go in the garden  
You'll find something waiting  
Right there where you left it lying upside down  
When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded  
The underside is lighter when you turn it around

Everything stays right where you left it  
Everything stays  
But it still changes  
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly  
In little ways, when everything stays

Go down to the ocean  
The crystal tide is rising  
The waters' gotten higher as the shore washes out  
Keep your eyes wide open, even when the sun is blazin'  
The moon controls the tide, it can cause you to drown

Everything stays, right where you've left it  
Everything stays, but it still changes  
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly  
In little ways  
When everything stays"

Falco stares at his brother in awe, "WOW! Eren! You're such a good singer! Your voice is beautiful!"  
"Hehe, merci beaucoup mon nounours. Are you ready for bed?"  
"Actually, could you please tell me a story?"  
Eren glances down at him, "Sure kitten, what about?"  
The brunette thinks for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought, "You didn't inherit a titan with the other Warriors, so how did you end up with them?"  
"Well kitten, that's a long story. Get comfortable."

**We'll start our story with the titan inheritance. I had really high scores on our exams, my total score was a lot higher than everyone else's, even Marcy.**

_Military officials are gathered around, discussing the results of the Warrior cadets tests._  
**Marley decided that with scores as high as mine, giving me a titan power would be a waste of such rare natural talent.**

_Eren is walking through a foreign town, glancing around while subtly searching for his target._  
**I went on a mission or two here and there, making use of my skills in stealth and infiltration. But even by Marley's standards, I wasn't quite old enough to be a soldier, especially as a Noble.**

_Eren stands, watching. The Warriors have their backs to him, walking away._  
**I ended up being left behind, all alone.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is called "Everything Stays", written by Rebecca Sugar for the Cartoon Network show "Adventure Time", and subsequently performed by Olivia Olsen, the voice of Marceline the Vampire Queen.  
> Full credit to both of them for this lovely song ❤️
> 
> For anyone wondering why Falco's eyes were first described as hazel, then as brown and green, I fetched this extract from the Wikipedia page on eye colour:  
> Hazel eyes often appear to shift in color from a brown to a green. Although hazel mostly consists of brown and green, the dominant color in the eye can either be brown/gold or green. This is how many people mistake hazel eyes to be amber and vice versa. This can sometimes produce a multicolored iris, i.e., an eye that is light brown/amber near the pupil and charcoal or dark green on the outer part of the iris (or vice versa) when observed in sunlight.


	2. Melodic Singer

_Eren stands on a stage, overlooking a crowd of spectators._   
**With nothing else to do, I ended up singing at a bar in a small town near a seaside cliff.**   
_Quand il me prend dans ses bras  
Il me parle tout bas,  
Je vois la vie en rose.  
Il me dit des mots d'amour,  
Des mots de tous les jours,  
Et ca me fait quelque chose._   
**Everyone was so miserable during the war, but whenever they heard me sing, they'd smile.**   
_Il est entre dans mon coeur  
Une part de bonheur  
Dont je connais la cause._   
**They looked so happy.**   
_C'est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui  
Dans la vie,  
Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.  
Et des que je l'aperçois  
Alors je sens en moi  
Mon coeur qui bat_   
**I fell in love with all the cheers and applause.**   
_C'est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui  
Dans la vie,  
Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.  
Et des que je l'aperçois  
Alors je sens en moi  
Mon coeur qui bat._   
**Singing became my whole life.**

_A group of well dressed men in military uniforms sit, watching Eren's performance with calculative gazes. They approach._   
**One day, after one of my performances, some high ranking members of the military approached me, and said that I could do so much more than I was.**   
**They told me that my blood...my voice, held a special power. An ability so powerful, that it could help end the war.**

_They place a vial and syringe in front of Eren and leave with little more than a few parting words._   
**They left me with a serum, and told me the choice was mine.**

_The Warriors transform, rushing towards an enemy base, under heavy cannon fire._   
**All I could think about was the fact that my friends, my family, were out there, fighting for their lives. I wanted nothing more than for them to return home safely.**

**I was ready to sacrifice anything for that.**

_Glimmering white wings outstretch,_

**So...**

_An inhuman creature floats in the air,_

**Without even a second thought,**

_Enemy soldiers stare at it in shock, eyes filled with fear._

**I headed to the battlefield.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is called "La Vie en Rose", I'm not sure who sung it originally, but I'm using the cover version of it sung by Youtuber Annapantsu 💞


	3. Orphic Siren

**I wasn't the only one, there were many others like me. We became the "Incarnate Squad", holders of the incarnate titans.**

_A crustaceous, 9 metre titan, covered in thick armour, with sharp, serrated claws. It slices through enemy cannons like a hot knife through butter._   
**Lobster.**

_A canine, 3 metre titan with a large head featuring canine ears, covered in fur with a short tail. It barrels through enemy soldiers, lashing out with teeth and claws._   
**Jackal.**

_A cnidarian, 7 metre titan, with webbed hands and feet, fins on it's arms and legs and tentacle-like hair. It swims amongst enemy soldiers, crackling with electricity, electrocuting them._   
**Jellyfish.**

_A rhinocerotine, 5 metre titan, with a top-heavy body covered in armour and a pair of rhinocerical horns on it's head. It walks forward with purpose, bashing enemy cannons out of it's way._   
**Rhino.**

_A waspy, 3 metre titan with insectoid mandibles, two pairs of wings and a stinger. It flies above the battlefield, showering scale dust around. It sparks it's wings, setting of a massive explosion that decimates the enemy forces._   
**Wasp.**

_A bovine, 7 metre titan with a long face, adorned with a pair of large, curved horns and conjoined, hoof-like toes. It creates a large axe out of hardened titan flesh, swinging it at all that oppose it._   
**Bull.**

_An ursine, 4 metre titan, with sharp teeth, a fur covered back and enlarged, clawed hands and feet. It slams it's giant hand down on an enemy cannon, completely crushing it._   
**Bear.**

_A gorillian, 3 metre titan, with fur covered arms, legs and even thicker fur on it's back. It claps its hands together, releasing a shockwave that slams into an enemy airship, veering it off course._   
**Gorilla.**

_A young man, with glowing green eyes, hair a mix of acidic green and toxic purple, chameleonic tail swishing around. He crawls across a wall while invisible, before lunging at enemy soldiers._   
**Chameleon.**

_A young women, with glowing red eyes, hair a mix of sanguine red and platinum blond, 4 arachnid legs extend from her lower back, poised to strike. Arachnoid silk flies from her hands, wrapping up enemy soldiers._   
**Spider.**

_A childlike woman, with glowing yellow eyes, hair a mix of golden blond and snowy white, feline ears twitching, tail swishing. She strikes out at enemy soldiers with hardened, crystalline claws._   
**Feline.**

_A tall man, with glowing white eyes, hair a mix of glowing white and lunar silver, lupine tail wagging. He shoots hundreds of strands of needle-like hair from fur covered claws._   
**Wolf**

_Marcel falls from the sky, hand full of razor sharp feathers. With a flick of his hands, he throws them. They slice through enemy flesh with ease._   
**Bird.**

_A petite woman with glowing purple eyes, hair a mix of light blonde and deep purple. She leaps into the air, a flap of lepidopteran wings taking her even higher as thorny plants impale her enemies._   
**Butterfly.**

_Eren sits on a rock under the sea, piscatorial tail swaying, feathered avian wings bristling. They vibrate, as a wave of sound shatters the eardrums of every enemy soldier that fell into the water._   
**Seabird.**

**Marcel held the bird titan, but he remained with the warriors, and no-one knows what happened to the butterfly. That left 13 of us in the incarnate squad.**

**We went on all sorts of missions together, we became a family.**

_Gorilla blasts away enemy cannons; bull bashes others apart with his axe; wolf and jackal tear through enemy soldiers; seabird sits on rhino's shoulder releasing a wave of sound that renders the enemy soldiers unconscious; chameleon throws about globs of acid, spider binds enemy soldiers with silk._   
_Bear, feline and wasp attack enemy ships; lobster, jellyfish and seabird swim beneath the ships, killing off all the soldiers that fall into the water._

**We were all very close, a family. We thought that nothing could break the bonds we had forged.**

**_We were wrong._ **


	4. Unhinge, Submit, Monsterize part 1

_A young man, about 18, with deep brown eyes and midnight black hair._  
**Jakob Stiliotalpa, the holder of the chameleon, also known as Basilisk. He was the leader of the incarnate squad . He was strong, compassionate, reliable, smart. He and I were very close.**  
_Jakob laughs as Eren tackles him, their eyes glittering with amusement as the two wrestle around on the ground._  
**In the time we were together, he became my big brother, in everything but blood.**  
_The two of them trained, spared and played until the twilight dusk, when the sun dipped below the horizon._

 **Eventually, it became apparent that something was wrong. Jakob approached me one morning, said suspicious things.**  
_Jakob pulls Eren aside. The younger male glances up at his brother, head tilted in confusion, "Jakob? Est-ce qu'il est quelque chose ne va pas?"  
The older male glanced down at his little brother with fondness, but also some other emotion that Eren couldn't identify,  
"J'hésite nounours, mais je ne me suis pas senti moi-même ces derniers temps, il y a ces… pulsions étranges, pensées violentes qui ne sont pas les miennes. Je ne sais pas ce qui ne va pas avec moi, mais je veux que tu saches mon caneton sirénique, que peu importe ce qui m'arrive, je t'aimerai toujours frérot. Quoi qu'il en soit, tu dois être fort, assez pour conduire le reste des incarnés à ma place."_

**I didn't find out what he meant until later that evening.**

_The incarnate squad is standing with the Marleyan military and their prisoners after a successful mission when they hear a gurgling behind them. Jakob stands there, growling, eyes glowing like acidic fire. There's a cracking sound as his bones shift, partially transforming. Highly corrosive acidic gas billows from his mouth as the basilisk shifts into existence. But it doesn't stop, and through the gaseous haze that kills friend and foe alike, the chameleon fully forms, the 10 metre monster bellowing before lashing out at allies and enemies indiscriminately. The other incarnates watch, frozen in shock and horror as the military blast him with a barrage of cannon fire, and as he reverts back to his human form, Eren rushes over.  
"Hey baby brother," the young man says weakly, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to look after you anymore, hehe. I'm not worried though, you'll be a great leader."  
"Jakob? No, don't do this to me, don't you DARE die on me!!! Please! I still need you! Jakob!!"  
The young man smiled at the crying child, and closed his eyes for the last time.  
Eren screams, bursting the eardrums of several military officials, hair briefly shimmering.  
The other incarnates, who had been watching on in a shocked silence, glanced up at the sky confused.  
When had it started snowing?_

**That's when we realised, that the rest of us were destined to end up the same way as Jakob.**

_Several incarnate titans roar in anguish._

**And as time went on, it became harder and harder to return to our human forms.**

_Several incarnates sit around a fire, grim expressions on their faces._

**Soon enough, the nightmares that had plagued us,**

**_became a reality._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of what Eren and Jakob are saying:  
> "Jakob? Is there something wrong?"  
> I'm not sure teddy bear, but I haven't felt like myself lately, there are these… weird urges, violent thoughts that are not my own. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I want you to know my sirenic duckling, that no matter what happens to me, I will always love you little brother. Either way, you must be strong enough to lead the rest of the incarnates in my stead."
> 
> If you're wondering, Eren told Falco the convo in English 🤗


	5. Unhinge, Submit, Monsterize part 2

**Soon enough, most of us were gone.**

_Corpses are strewn across the battlefield, steaming as they rapidly decompose._

**Lobster, Rhino, Wasp, Jellyfish, Chameleon, Spider, and Bull were all dead, perishing in the war, or dying by Marley's hand.**

_Several large creatures screech, scream and snarl, minds shattered, identities lost._

**Bear, Wolf, Gorilla and Jackal had lost their human forms and identities, and they fled.**

_A young childlike women dances around. Her eyes glow a fiery yellow, hair a mix of golden blonde and snowy white, like sun rays on freshly fallen snow. Her catlike ears twitch, feline tail swaying behind her._

**Ariel Kefira Leonis.**

**She and I were all that was left of the Incarnate Squad.**

**She hated me.**

**She was jealous you see, she didn't like that I had been chosen to lead over her, that she had to take orders from a child.**

**On the Incarnate Squad's final mission, she spoke to me.**

**She told me to go all out, manipulated me with pretty lies and harsh words, and having lost my human form, my self-hatred allowed me to trust her.**

_"Listen to me Siren," golden eyes stare into a cold blue blizzard, "you've been holding your power back for too long. Why do you bother? You can never go home anyway, not with how you are now. I can hide my ears and tail but you... you're a monster now. None of them will accept you as you are, Marcel will never accept you as you are. Not a monster like you. The best you can do for them, for him, is to end this war."_

_"If you really love them,_

_then give your life for them."_

**My first mistake, was believing her.**

**_Wither and Decay,_ **

_A lone figure sits on the rocks, singing._

**_End this Destiny,_ **

_Gentle snow falls upon the enemy ships,_

**_Break these earthly chains,_ **

_An icy wind whips around, lashing at everything in it's path._

**_And set the spirit free,_ **

_The enemy ships shudder as they fall apart, dozens of ice pillars erupting from them._

**_Set the spirit free._ **

**My second mistake, was giving up.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's song is the Decay Incantation from the Disney Tangled animated series.


	6. The Songster of Sleep, Psychomachy

**It worked.**

**With the destruction of the enemy fleet, Marley was able to gain the upper hand and win the war.**

**But, it came at the cost of my humanity.**

**Afterwards, I fled to a familiar place, a small village near a seaside cliff.**

**Once there, I overheard a conversation.**

_"When the future's looking as grim as it does, maybe it'd be better if tomorrow never came at all."_

**That...broke me.**

**I'd fought so hard, sacrificed so much, but it wasn't enough.**

**I wanted to save them.**

**_Gather the rope,_ **

**I went into the village, thoughts not my own.**

**_With all my strength,_ **

**Under the influence of the Siren, I became a slave to my own power.**

**_Bring your boat,_ **

**I sirenised the village, lulling them into a deadly sleep.**

**_Closer to, my shore,_ **

**Bodies drop as people hear my voice.**

**_So that, my love,_ **

**Before long, the military had arrived, investigating a report of a rogue incarnate in the area.**

**It didn't take them long to discover what was happening.**

_"All of you, split up and find him!"_

_**Won't waver in his way,** _

_Magath's head snaps towards the voice, and he rushes towards it, three soldiers flanking him._

_**He can find his way back home,** _

_They come upon a beautiful creature, with sea green and ocean blue hair, tail swishing._

_**back home, to me.** _

_Glimmering white wings raise as glacial blue eyes gaze at the soldiers._

_**And let the horn,** _

_They freeze in terror as the Siren smiles at them._

_**Keep sounding in the wind,** _

_A wave of sound hits them and they drop._

_**And -** _

_A familiar voice sounds out, screaming,_

_"Eren! Please stop! Why are you doing this?"_

_The inhuman creature glances behind him, regarding the handsome boy with a glee-filled smile,_

_"Oh Marcy, look.  
Everyone looks so peaceful in their sleep, don't they?  
My song saved them all!  
It reverberates throughout the depths of their very souls, leading them to salvation.  
They don't have to be scared of a painful future anymore, not ever again.  
I saved them!  
I may not get cheers and applause anymore, but this is my stage!  
Isn't it wonderful?"_

_Marcel looks at his Princess with wide eyes,_

_"NO! This isn't you Eren, what happened to my Princess!"_

_Eren's luminescent blue eyes dim, face contorted in shock, but before he can say anything, Magath is back on his feet, gun trained on the shifter._

_Eren's head whips behind him, crying out,_

_"Danny, protect me!"_

_He freezes._

**_BANG_ **

_A gun shot rings out across the village, Eren's eyes widen as blood flies._

_Marcel watches the scene with horror,_

_"EREN!"_

_The boy in question struggles to get back up, before taking off with a few flaps of his wings, fleeing to the cliff._

_Marcel runs after him, crying his name._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song featured in this chapter is from the animated series, "To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts", sung by the Siren Incarnate, Trice, in episode 8, the one that inspired this entire AU.


End file.
